BIG NEWS!!! UN Secretary General to Present World Mom of India with UNCA Award

It is with great honor that we announce that World Moms Blog’s Senior Editor, Purnima Ramakrishnan, has been awarded an Elizabeth Neuffer Memorial prize for print and online coverage of the United Nations and UN Agencies.

“The dinner will be attended by U.N. officials, diplomats, Hollywood celebrities, corporate and cultural organizations and journalists from around the world,” according to the official award notice. We are currently (and excitedly!) coordinating arrangements with the hope that Purnima will be able to travel from India to New York City to accept this prestigious award in person.

It is also with a flood of emotions that we learned about the life of Elizabeth Neuffer, the woman for whom the UNCA award was named. Elizabeth Neuffer was The Boston Globe bureau chief at the U.N., who died in a car crash at the age of 46 while covering postwar Iraq in 2003.

An award winning journalist, she was the first to report that indicted war criminals remained in power in post-war Bosnia, where she spent a year reporting on war crimes. Early on in her career, she reported from federal court in Boston, Capitol Hill during the Clinton Administration, Moscow during the break up of the Soviet Union and the Middle East during the Gulf War. She then became European Bureau Chief from 1994-1998 in Berlin. Elizabeth also dispatched to Africa to report on the 1996 return of Hutu refugees from Zaire to their native Rwanda.

Learning about the life of Elizabeth Neuffer reminds, us, at World Moms Blog that there is so much work left unfinished when it comes to reporting on human rights and justice in the world. We will gladly carry a small spark from the large torch she lit by the example of her leading reporting. It is an honor for Purnima to receive this award as an Senior Editor for World Moms Blog. Congratulations to Purnima Ramakrishnan and the entire World Moms Blog team! We will continue to work hard to provide a voice for women around the world and speak up for those who need us most.

Thank you to the UNCA Awards Selection Committee for their selection and congratulations to all UNCA award winners!

World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children.
World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.

Comments

I am so proud of you. I love seeing this amazing group of women go out and do gigantic things. The issues you have reported on are gigantic things, and they have been noticed. Keep up the great work!

As an editor, you have held the roles that we needed covered most so many times — back in the day you took over editing for the Friday Question and Saturday Sidebar. You’ve edited for Team Asia and Team Middle East and Africa . You have always volunteered to fill in where and when we needed you. Even today, you do both with Elizabeth — edit and help out with Facebook. Your ability to show up for Skype calls, even going to places where you can get a more dependable connection, has not go unnoticed by our team. Your love of World Moms Blog keeps you always thinking of new ideas and how we can do better. You fill my inbox! No doubt, WMB is always on your mind. We thank you for this. Congratulations on winning this prestigious award in memory of Elizabeth Neuffer. It is well deserved.

HUGE love for this is post and ditto on every single word that Jenn said. You are an amazing human being dear Purnima, your dedication and commitment is so inspiring. Meeting you in Chicago, and getting a in real life hug was a highlight and now it looks like I may get to do it again.

This is so well deserved for your coverage of stories that matter, especially to women and children. I am just bursting with pride and joy for you and your accomplishment! Congratulations! And I will make the trip to NYC to see you in person when you come!! xoxo